Texas Hold 'Em will be free

They may have kept us waiting as long as possible, but there's good news for those of you holding out for news about Microsoft's ongoing plans for Xbox Live Arcade: Texas Hold 'Em poker will be free after all, albeit for just 48 hours.

Due out on August 23rd after all, the complete poker title will be available for free until 8am GMT on the 25th, after which it will be split between a trial version and an 800 Microsoft point full version.

Following Texas Hold 'Em, Microsoft's sticking to its plan to try and have something new for Live Arcade once a week, with a pair of Konami titles, Time Pilot (August 30, 400 points) and Scramble (September 6, 400 points), set to join the line-up.

In the meantime, those of you hooking yourselves up to Live today can download a Cloning Clyde picture pack for 100 points, if you really must.

Relatively good news then, although keen-eyed observers will be asking what happened to the schedule supposedly released by Microsoft to the Official Xbox Magazine in the UK, which had everything above happening a week earlier and Lumines Live sliding into the September 6 slot.

As it stands, we don't know what's happening with Lumines Live - and if today's news is anything to go by, may not know for certain until as late as September 13th - but with any luck it's not too far away.